Friday, March 13, 2015

Aberdeen Pavilion

This is really the last part of Lansdowne that the OSEG bandits got right- pretty much because they were forbidden to tamper with it. The Aberdeen Pavilion was built as the crown jewel of Lansdowne Park, an exhibition hall nicknamed the Cattle Castle. Dating back to 1898, it is the last surviving Canadian hall of what was once a common Victorian style. It also once hosted hockey games, and is in fact the oldest surviving venue in which the Stanley Cup was ever contested.


This view from the east takes in one of the two entrances along its length. As much as OSEG swore that the sightlines to the Pavilion would not be hindered or infringed upon, that oath was worthless, as taking in the view from Bank Street on the west side of Lansdowne, the Pavilion is crowded by the big box store architecture to one side, and the expanded arena and stadium to the other. Of course, since OSEG's entire "we swear, we're doing the right thing for the community" mantra has been shown to be of no value, that's not a surprise.


Still, the Aberdeen remains a real jewel, and along with the nearby Horticulture Building a pleasant distraction from all the crap OSEG has added onto the site. While those greedy bastards may have ruined a lot of this place, they didn't finish it all off. 

42 comments:

  1. It is a beautiful building William.

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  2. I like complex buildings like this, very nice, William. :)

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  3. that building does have a good shape and details to it.

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  4. 1898! That's a lovely old building. Thank goodness for Heritage laws William otherwise we would have nothing left to remind us of past times.. which would be pretty bleak!

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  5. This is a cool building! Says much. Thanks for the bit about the Stanley Cup too.

    ALOHA from Honolulu
    ComfortSpiral
    =^..^=

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  6. That really is a beautiful building.

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  7. It is a beautiful building as is the Hort building in the previous post. Maybe the town council does something right---some of the time.
    Developers talk out of both sides of their mouths rendering them unbelievable. Of course they run to the bank and out of town leaving the community to pick up the shambles.
    MB

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  8. @Luis: thanks! I certainly think so.

    @Linda: this is one of my favourite buildings in the city.

    @Gill: whoever built it did wonderful work.

    @Grace: that would be bleak.

    @Cloudia: I thought that was an interesting detail, the hockey history.

    @Sharon: it certainly stands out.

    @MB: the two buildings are close together. The sightlines have changed; the Horticulture building used to be to the front of the Aberdeen, now it faces the back entrance on a diagonal angle.

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  9. The buildings of yesterday and today are fine.
    You have meditated that long time so you've delayed a bit with the Daily Photo. (just kidding).

    Tomás.

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  10. And hopefully be haunded by the ghosts of those they upset. Great looking building, long may it be so

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  11. Nice looking building ! Thanks for sharing , have a good weekend !

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  12. What year was the Cup contested there?

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  13. Thanks for sharing infos about this nice building !

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  14. Typical Canadian--the hockey reference, I mean!

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  15. To me it's a nice looking building.

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  16. it's really a cool looking place!

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  17. Woot woot, long may this beautiful building survive!

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  18. @Tomas: actually I screwed up the scheduling today!

    @Bill: it's a lovely building, inside and out.

    @Country Gal: thanks!

    @Birdman: way back in 1904.

    @Anna: you're welcome.

    @Norma: I couldn't resist.

    @Marleen: I quite agree.

    @Tex: I think so.

    @Ciel: I hope it's around for a long time to come.

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  19. I've seen a similar building in England...on the S Coast...if only I could remember where!
    Jane x

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  20. Great to see this building with its rich history is preserved in any case.

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  21. i love the cap on top ... what's that doohickey called? any who ... i bet it has a technical name. i would think. very cool in my book. ( :

    have a good weekend!!

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  22. @Jane and Chris: it would date back to that era.

    @RedPat: I've always liked it.

    @Jan: and it's still well used. These days the farmer's market is inside on Sundays.

    @Beth: a cupola would be the right term.

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  23. Another beautiful old building William, too many around the world being torn down, once they are gone that's it. We'll never see the like again...

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  24. The one photo reminds me of a ski lodge.

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  25. Consider yourself lucky. In California, they would have just razed it and built something new.

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  26. It's a real gem. And, as a former Californian, I agree with Mari.

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  27. Looks like a grand old building! Why Aberdeen?

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  28. More people should try to keep the greedy bastards honest. In other words make them do what they promised.

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  29. Love the facade in the second picture. Very unusual.

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  30. This building is quite a unique style and colour. There is something sacred about the facade in the second photo. It could almost be a church design.

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  31. I'm so glad no one was allowed to mess with it. So much history attached to it...and I wouldn't want to mess with any of those hockey lovers! How interesting that the Stanley cup was once contested there! Besides, it's an attractive building.

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  32. Unique and nice shape/ architecture in the last photo.

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  33. What a beautiful and unique building!

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  34. Beautiful building, William !

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  35. The only thing we can depend on is change...masked as progress it's no fun. The parking is so terrible down there.

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  36. It doesn't look like a building where hockey games are played.

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  37. This is definitely a jewel - and now I bet it looks rather out of place with the new boxes of stores surrounding it.

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  38. @Geoff: we don't value the past.

    @Whisk: I can see that.

    @Mari: it's commonly a problem here.

    @Kay: we get it also by demolition by neglect. An owner refuses to keep up a place of particular value and shrugs when it collapses.

    @Furry Gnome: named after the governor general of the time, I imagine, Lord Aberdeen.

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  39. @Red: it would be nice if city councils would think beyond developer dollars.

    @Linda: it's quite a structure. I've gotten quite used to it.

    @Gemma: it could be!

    @EG: and it's still well used, especially in warmer weather.

    @Cheryl: that it is.

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  40. @Gunn: I certainly think so.

    @VP: that it is.

    @Karl: definitely.

    @Jennifer: it can be chaotic, especially on a game night, to park there.

    @Shelly: back then you might have an audience of a couple thousand people.

    @Hamilton: a tarnished jewel with all of that going on.

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